Green Energy and Wasted Opportunities

Hearing this morning that the British government has decided to change its key environmental strategy yet again caused me to sigh at another wasted opportunity relating to green energy. Having invested in and encouraged through generous incentives the proliferation of wind and solar farms to the dismay of many people affected, the subsidies are to be cut quite drastically in favour of offshore wind power. Ministers call it a rebalancing, while Labour says it is bad for business- but no-one has talked about the impact on the long-suffering environment. [caption id="attachment_2242" align="alignright" width="150"] Wind farm in Austria[/caption] An incoherent and erratic energy plan has resulted in thousands of applications from landowners to erect turbines in a bid to profit from generous allowances, many of which have been granted as being part of the central Energy Plan: the fact that onshore wind energy is unreliable and often ineffective, that it blights the countryside and damages wildlife sometimes catastrophically, did not seem to matter to a government determined to be seen to fulfill its green requirements quickly and easily. Now, with grants and subsidies being cut in 2015, many existing turbines and solar farms may cease to operate on the grounds of cost, and equipment in the process of being built may be left unfinished - leaving an ugly and useless legacy across the British countryside. The reason for the change in green energy policy is not because of evidence-based environmental or business factors, but is due to political calculation: Conservative and Lib Dem MPs in rural constituencies face an electoral backlash from constituents furious at the wind energy policy which they believe ruins their countryside and the value of their properties, while UKIP opposes all wind farms on principle and is a growing threat as elections approach. It is unfortunate when any government policy is managed according to political need rather than common sense, particularly so when wildlife is affected adversely and the land changed permanently, but for nothing. The strategy for green energy could have been devised so much more cleverly, if only real investment and commitment had been given to the development and implementation of cutting edge technology rather than the hasty choice of short-term tokenism - gesture politics leading to a lot of wasted money. So many opportunities have been missed, and so much at the expense of the environment. The world of nature is more than just a political football, and it is not expendable either.   [byline]  ]]>